c----------------------------------------------------------
      subroutine elb(txt,len)
c
c eliminate leading blanks from a character string
c
      character*(*) txt
      character*80 save

      do 9000 i=1,len
         if (txt(i:i).ne.' ') then
             nonb = i
             goto 100
         endif
9000  continue
      return
100   continue
      save = txt(nonb:len)
      txt = save
      return
      end
